Posts Tagged ‘plugra’

As you have just seen on the video, compound butter is, quite simply made up of a stick of butter combined with some finely minced herbs or vegetables. The combinations are endless. Possible ingredients include herbs and spices, such as basil, thyme, oregeno, saffron, chives, or aromatic vegetables such as shallots, garlic and ginger. You can use compound butters in a million ways. They are great to serve with fresh bread, the obvious choice, but equally great served on top of a sizzling steak, grilled chicken, fish or really any place you use butter in a savory dish. We recently made a whole nourishing meal in five minutes by adding basil butter to a pound of pasta and dumping a pint of cherry tomatoes in the bowl. It was amazing. Just remember one of the key rules to cooking: simple and fresh ingredients, always result in great food.

Start with butter. Not this much. About a stick’s worth will do. You’re going to have to cut through it, so you don’t want it to be too frozen, but not too warm because then it will get mushy. Basically just don’t wait too long after taking it out of the fridge to use it.

Then find yourself a heaping half cup of basil, and finely chop it. Remember that the amount of herbs or vegetables you use will vary greatly depending on the ingredient you choose to use. Here we are using a ½ cup of basil, but you certainly wouldn’t use a ½ cup of ginger or garlic since it would be overwhelming. In the case of garlic or ginger, a couple of tablespoons would do, depending on your taste. You’ll have to play around with it.

Using a chefs knife, cut the butter and herbs together until they come together and are well combined.

Once the butter and basil are well combined place the butter on a sheet of wax or parchment paper (use wax paper if you have it since it is a lot cheaper and serves the same purpose). Shape the butter into a log.

Cover the roll with the sheet of wax or parchment paper. Once covered, gently roll the covered butter back and forth until the log is round and looks like a log.

Twist the ends of the log to look like a candy wrapper and place in the refrigerator for one hour or longer (you may also put it in the freezer for ½ hour if pressed for time, but don’t forget it!) Unwrap the butter and place it on a pretty plate, cutting thin slices while it is still firm. Cover any leftovers with plastic wrap and store in refrigerator. The butter will keep for a week or longer.

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So here’s the challenge for you. Make your own compound butter (even combine more than one herb or vegetable), and let us know how you used them. We can’t wait to see your comments!